Shoes serve various purposes for protecting and safeguarding a wearer's foot. The sole of a shoe typically provides friction and cushions impacts on the foot. For sports, such as hiking, shoes are moreover provided with a rigid heel portion which provides a sufficient stability of the foot within the shoe and specifically protects the heel portion of the foot. Particularly for outdoor applications, shoes are supposed to protect the foot and to keep the foot warm and dry, but at the same time to allow for a certain amount of ventilation to avoid sweat and odor. Therefore, significant efforts in material science have been made to improve the materials used in shoe uppers.
A further objective in the design of outdoor shoes is to provide a sealing of the opening between the shoe and the foot/leg. A shoe upper material which protects the foot and keeps it warm may be of limited use without a proper sealing between the shoe upper and the foot. Otherwise, the foot may easily get cold. Moreover, dirt, small pebbles or snow may enter the shoe via the opening.
In the prior art, gaiters are typically used to seal the opening between the shoe upper and the wearer's foot/leg. However, gaiters are cumbersome to carry and/or to attach to the shoe. Moreover, they need to be tightened around the shanks and, if tightened too strongly, the use of gaiters may lead to bruises. If, on the other hand, they are only loosely tightened, the gaiters will slide downwards such that they have to be frequently readjusted. Moreover, gaiters may easily get stuck when hiking through rocky or bushy ground.
Another solution is to provide a shoe with a collar. In the prior art, sometimes bulky collars are arranged above the shoe's heel portion. They may extend around the ankle region of the foot and may be tightened to close the gap between shoe and ankle. Bulky collars are used in that context such that, despite the required tightening, a reasonably soft contact with the ankle is enabled. Such bulky collars may reasonably seal the shoe from any objects. However, the bulky collars increase the shoes' weight which is particularly disadvantageous for hiking where literally every additional gram is a large burden and avoided by a hiker.
In addition, there are prior art collars that are somewhat elastic. However, prior art elastic collars are often arranged to serve as an auxiliary means for putting on the shoe without being adapted for sealing the interface between shoe and ankle. Moreover, even if provided for sealing purposes, such elastic collars often do not sufficiently close the gap between the shoe and the ankle.
Therefore, it is the problem underlying the present invention to improve the sealing of shoes, particularly hiking shoes.